Image acquisition device capable of acquiring images regardless of communication state, image acquisition method, recording medium, image acquisition system, imaging device, and imaging method

ABSTRACT

The present invention is to surely acquire an image of a part according to an instruction from a video regardless of presence or absence of communication connection and a communication state. A controller unit acquires instruction information (log) as instruction information to acquire an image, where the instruction information corresponds to time information related to time to acquire the image, and acquires an image of a temporal part indicated by the time information corresponding to the instruction information, from each of plural videos recorded continuously in terms of time, synchronized with the time information corresponding to the acquired instruction information, and different in content from one another.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority fromthe prior Japanese Patent Application No. 2017-042307, filed Mar. 7,2017, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an image acquisition device capable ofacquiring images regardless of a communication state, an imageacquisition method, a recording medium, an image acquisition system, animaging device, and an imaging method.

2. Description of the Related Art

Conventionally, a technique has been disclosed, which records anoperation history in which editing operations are performed on a videoshot with a camcorder, and can play back the video shot or reproduceediting processing based on the operation history (for example, seeJapanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-193702).

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

One aspect of an image acquisition device according to the presentinvention includes:

an instruction information acquiring section which acquires instructioninformation used to acquire an image, where the instruction informationcorresponds to time information related to time to acquire the image;and

a part acquisition section which acquires an image of a temporal partindicated by the time information corresponding to the instructioninformation, from each of a plurality of videos recorded continuously interms of time, synchronized with the time information corresponding tothe instruction information acquired by the instruction informationacquiring section, and different in content from one another.

Further, one aspect of an image acquisition method according to thepresent invention includes:

an instruction information acquiring process of acquiring instructioninformation used to acquire an image, where the instruction informationcorresponds to time information related to time to acquire the image;and

a part acquisition process of acquiring an image of a temporal partindicated by the time information corresponding to the instructioninformation, from each of a plurality of videos recorded continuously interms of time, synchronized with the time information corresponding tothe instruction information acquired in the instruction informationacquiring process, and different in content from one another.

Further, one aspect of a recording medium according to the presentinvention stores a program which causes a computer to implement:

an instruction information acquiring function of acquiring instructioninformation used to acquire an image, where the instruction informationcorresponds to time information related to time to acquire the image;and

a part acquisition function of acquiring an image of a temporal partindicated by the time information corresponding to the instructioninformation, from each of a plurality of videos recorded continuously interms of time, synchronized with the time information corresponding tothe instruction information acquired by the instruction informationacquiring function, and different in content from one another.

Further, one aspect of an image acquisition system according to thepresent invention is an image acquisition system including an imageacquisition device and a plurality of imaging devices, wherein

the image acquisition device includes

-   -   an instruction information acquiring section which acquires        instruction information used to acquire an image, where the        instruction information corresponds to time information related        to time to acquire the image,

each of the plurality of imaging devices includes

-   -   a sending section which sends a video continuously shot in terms        of time and synchronized with the time information corresponding        to the instruction information acquired by the instruction        information acquiring section, and

the image acquisition device further includes

-   -   a part acquisition section which acquires an image of a temporal        part indicated by the time information corresponding to the        instruction information acquired by the instruction information        acquiring section, from the video sent from each of the        plurality of imaging devices.

Further, one aspect of an imaging device according to the presentinvention includes:

a shooting control section which controls video shooting with an imagingsection according to shooting instruction information received from anexternal device through communication; and

a communication state detecting section which detects a communicationstate with the external device,

wherein the shooting control section controls the imaging section toperform the video shooting continuously regardless of the shootinginstruction information from the external device while the communicationstate is detected by the communication state detecting section as adisconnected state, and

the imaging device further includes:

-   -   an instruction information acquiring section which acquires,        after being connected, the shooting instruction information that        has not been received while the communication state is detected        by the communication state detecting section as the disconnected        state; and    -   a part identification section which identifies a temporal part,        corresponding to the shooting instruction information acquired        by the instruction information acquiring section, from a video        shot with the imaging section when the communication state is        the disconnected state.

Further, one aspect of an imaging method according to the presentinvention includes:

a shooting control process of controlling video shooting with an imagingsection according to shooting instruction information received from anexternal device through communication; and

a communication state detecting process of detecting a communicationstate with the external device,

wherein the imaging section is controlled in the shooting controlprocess to perform the video shooting continuously regardless of theshooting instruction information from the external device while thecommunication state is detected as a disconnected state in thecommunication state detecting process, and

the imaging method further includes:

-   -   an instruction information acquiring process of acquiring, after        being connected, the shooting instruction information that has        not been received while the communication state is detected in        the communication state detecting process as the disconnected        state; and    -   a part identification process of identifying a temporal part        corresponding to the shooting instruction information acquired        in the instruction information acquiring process, from a video        shot with the imaging section when the communication state is        the disconnected state.

Further, one aspect of a recording medium according to the presentinvention stores a program which causes a computer to implement:

a shooting control function of controlling video shooting with animaging section according to shooting instruction information receivedfrom an external device through communication; and

a communication state detecting function of detecting a communicationstate with the external device,

wherein the shooting control function controls the imaging section toperform the video shooting continuously regardless of the shootinginstruction information from the external device while the communicationstate is detected by the communication state detecting function as adisconnected state, and

the program causes the computer to further implement:

-   -   an instruction information acquiring function of acquiring,        after being connected, the shooting instruction information that        has not been received while the communication state is detected        by the communication state detecting function as the        disconnected state; and    -   a part identification function of identifying a temporal part        corresponding to the shooting instruction information acquired        by the instruction information acquiring function, from a video        shot with the imaging section when the communication state is        the disconnected state.

Further, one aspect of an image acquisition system according to thepresent invention is an image acquisition system including an imageacquisition device and a plurality of imaging devices, wherein

each of the plurality of imaging devices includes:

-   -   a shooting control section which controls video shooting with an        imaging section according to shooting instruction information        received from the image acquisition device through        communication; and    -   a communication state detecting section which detects a        communication state with the image acquisition device,

the shooting control section controls the imaging section to perform thevideo shooting continuously regardless of the shooting instructioninformation from the image acquisition device while the communicationstate is detected by the communication state detecting section as adisconnected state,

the imaging device further includes:

-   -   an instruction information acquiring section which acquires,        after being connected, the shooting instruction information that        has not been received while the communication state is detected        by the communication state detecting section as the disconnected        state; and    -   a part identification section which identifies a temporal part        corresponding to the shooting instruction information acquired        by the instruction information acquiring section, from a video        shot with the imaging section while the communication state is        detected as the disconnected state, and

the image acquisition device includes

-   -   an image acquisition section which acquires an image of a        temporal part corresponding to the shooting instruction        information identified by the identification section, from each        of the plurality of imaging devices.

Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth inthe description which follows, and in part will be obvious from thedescription, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objectsand advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means ofthe instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed outhereinafter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of the specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention, andtogether with the general description given above and the detaileddescription of the embodiments given below, serve to explain theprinciples of the invention.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of amulti-connection camera system in Embodiment 1 to which the presentinvention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of acontroller unit that constitutes part of the multi-connection camerasystem of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of acamera unit that constitutes part of the multi-connection camera systemof FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a selection screen ofshooting instruction modes.

FIG. 5A to FIG. 5F are timing charts illustrating image data acquisitionpatterns in an “edit-later” mode.

FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of operationrelated to partial image acquisition processing in the multi-connectioncamera system of FIG. 1.

FIG. 7A to FIG. 7E are timing charts illustrating image data acquisitionpatterns A to E in a multi-connection camera system according toEmbodiment 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Specific modes of the present invention will be described below withreference to the accompanying drawings. Note, however, that the scope ofthe invention is not limited to the illustrated examples.

Embodiment 1

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of amulti-connection camera system (image acquisition system) 100 ofEmbodiment 1 to which the present invention is applied.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the multi-connection camera system 100 of theembodiment includes a controller unit (image acquisition device) 1 whichperforms synchronous type wireless communication (such as Bluetooth(registered trademark), or the like), and plural camera units (imagingdevice) 2, . . . (in FIG. 1, two camera units 2A and 2B areillustrated). In the following, the plural camera units 2, . . . will bedescribed as the two camera units 2A and 2B.

Each of the camera units 2A and 2B has an independent housing body (notillustrated) and is capable of shooting independently in a separatedstate. Further, the camera units 2A and 2B can be integrated in such astate that the camera units 2A and 2B are arranged to make each other'soptical axes common and make each other's lens surfaces face in oppositedirections, i.e., in such a state that the camera units 2A and 2B arearranged back to back. Here, each of the camera units 2A and 2B isequipped with a so-called circumferential fish-eye lens so that, whenbeing integrated, the camera units 2A and 2B can perform so-calledomnidirectional shooting. Note that the omnidirectional shooting can beperformed by operating a predetermined button equipped in the controllerunit 1 and setting an “omnidirectional shooting” mode on a shooting modesetting screen.

Note that an electric/mechanistic determination section capable ofdetermining whether the camera units 2A and 2B are integrated or not isso provided that, when the determination section determines that bothare integrated, the “omnidirectional shooting” mode may be automaticallyset to acquire images of the same temporal parts from the respectivecamera units 2A and 2B, while when the determination section does notdetermine that both are integrated, images of different temporal partsmay be acquired from the camera units 2A and 2B, respectively.

Further, in a state where each of the camera units 2A and 2B performsshooting continuously (hereinafter called “all shooting”), when ashooting instruction is given with a user's operation in the controllerunit 1, the multi-connection camera system 100 of the embodimentassociates the shooting instruction with the operation time of theuser's operation related to the shooting instruction, and records themas a log on a recording medium 105 a. Then, after completion of the allshooting with each of the camera units 2A and 2B, when a communicationconnection is established between the controller unit 1 and each of thecamera units 2A and 2B, the multi-connection camera system 100 has thefunction of acquiring, from an all shot video, image data on a part(temporal part) corresponding to the log.

First, the controller unit 1 will be described with reference to FIG. 2.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of thecontroller unit 1.

The controller unit 1 becomes a master in synchronous type wirelesscommunication with a device (e.g., the camera unit 2A) as a controltarget. Specifically, as illustrated in FIG. 2, the controller unit 1includes a central control section 101, a memory 102, a display section103, a display control section 104, a recording medium control section105, an operation input section 106, a communication section 107, and atiming section 108.

The central control section 101, the memory 102, the display controlsection 104, the recording medium control section 105, the communicationsection 107, and the timing section 108 are connected through a bus line109.

For example, the controller unit 1 may be a dedicated device compatiblewith the camera units 2A and 2B, or a mobile phone, a smartphone, or aPDA (Personal Data Assistant).

The central control section (instruction information acquiring section,part acquisition section, identification section, instructioninformation recording section, image acquisition section) 101 controlseach section of the controller unit 1. Specifically, the central controlsection 101 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and the like, notillustrated, to perform various control operations according to variousprocessing programs (not illustrated) for the controller unit 1.

The memory 102 is, for example, a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory),or the like, to temporarily store data processed by the central controlsection 101, and the like.

The display section 103 is, for example, equipped with an LCD, or thelike, to display various pieces of information in a display area underthe control of the central control section 101. Specifically, forexample, the display section 103 displays, in the display area, anapplication screen (such as a live-view image display screen or aremote-control screen) according to image signal output from the displaycontrol section 104.

Based on the execution of each of various application programs (such asa live-view image display program, a remote-control program, and thelike, which are not illustrated) by the central control section 101, thedisplay control section 104 generates the application screen andoutputs, to the display section 103, an image signal according to thegenerated application screen.

The recording medium 105 a is loadable into the recording medium controlsection 105, and the recording medium control section 105 controlsreading data from the loaded recording medium 105 a and writing data tothe recording medium 105 a.

In other words, for example, the recording medium control section 105records, in a predetermined recording area of the recording medium 105a, image data on a still image or a video captured with each of thecamera units 2A and 2B, and sent and acquired from this camera unit 2A,2B by wireless communication.

Note that the recording medium 105 a is, for example, a nonvolatilememory (flash memory), or the like.

The operation input section 106 is used to input various instructions tothe body of the controller unit 1.

Specifically, for example, the operation input section 106 includes apower button related to power ON/OFF of the body of the controller unit1, and up, down, right, and left cursor buttons and an OK button relatedto selection instructions to select modes, functions, and the like (allof which are not illustrated).

Then, when any of various buttons is operated by a user, the operationinput section 106 outputs, to the central control section 101, anoperation instruction corresponding to the operated button. The centralcontrol section 101 causes each section to perform a predeterminedoperation according to the input operation instruction output from theoperation input section 106.

Note that the operation input section 106 may also have a touch panelprovided integrally with the display section 103, and based on apredetermined operation on the touch panel by the user, an operationinstruction corresponding to the predetermined operation may be outputto the central control section 101.

The communication section 107 performs personal wireless communicationbetween the respective camera units 2A and 2B.

Specifically, the communication section 107 includes a firstcommunication section 107 a which performs communication on conditionthat both the controller unit 1 and each of the camera units 2A and 2Bare in the power-on state and in a state capable of sending andreceiving images at a predetermined speed, and a second communicationsection 107 b which cannot send and receive images at the predeterminedspeed but can perform communication even when either one of thecontroller unit 1, and the camera units 2A and 2B is in a sleep state.

The first communication section 107 a performs communication inconformity with the standards of Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity) (registeredtrademark).

The second communication section 107 b performs communication inconformity with the standards of Bluetooth (registered trademark).

Note that each of the first communication section 107 a and the secondcommunication section 107 b is composed of an antenna, a demodulationcircuit, a signal processing circuit, and the like.

For example, the timing section 108 is configured to include a timer, atiming circuit, and the like to measure current time and acquire timeinformation.

Next, each camera unit 2 will be described with reference to FIG. 3.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of thecamera unit 2.

Here, the plural camera units 2, . . . become slaves in synchronous typewireless communication with the control device (controller unit 1).Since configuration and operation of the camera units 2, . . . aresubstantially the same as one another, the description will be made bytaking the camera unit 2A as a representative of the camera units 2.Note that all the camera units 2 are not necessarily of the same type.

As illustrated in FIG. 3, the camera unit 2A includes a central controlsection 201, a memory 202, an imaging section 203, an imaging controlsection 204, an image processing section 205, a recording medium controlsection 206, an operation input section 207, a communication section208, and a timing section 209.

The central control section 201, the memory 202, the imaging section203, the imaging control section 204, the image processing section 205,the recording medium control section 206, the communication section 208,and the timing section 209 are connected through a bus line 210.

The central control section (communication state detecting section,instruction information acquiring section, part identification section,connection-time state identifying section, disconnection-time stateinformation storing section) 201 controls each section of the cameraunit 2A. Specifically, the central control section 201 includes a CPU(Central Processing Unit) and the like, not illustrated, to performvarious control operations according to various processing programs (notillustrated) for the camera unit 2A.

The memory 202 is, for example, a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory),or the like, to temporarily store data processed by the central controlsection 201, and the like.

The imaging section 203 constitutes an imaging section for imaging asubject. Specifically, the imaging section 203 includes a lens section203 a and an electronic imaging section 203 b.

The lens section 203 a is, for example, composed of a so-calledcircumferential fish-eye lens, and the like.

The electronic imaging section 203 b is, for example, an image sensor,such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device), a CMOS (Complementary Metal-OxideSemiconductor), or the like, to convert an optical image passing throughthe lens of the lens section 203 a into a two-dimensional image signal.

Though not illustrated, the imaging section 203 may also include anaperture to adjust the amount of light passing through the lens section203 a.

The imaging control section 204 controls imaging of the subject by theimaging section 203. In other words, the imaging control section 204includes a timing generator, a driver, and the like, not illustrated.Then, the imaging control section 204 drives the electronic imagingsection 203 b through the timing generator and the driver to performscanning, causes the electronic imaging section 203 b to convert, to thetwo-dimensional image signal, the optical image formed every cycle bythe lens section 203 a, reads a frame image one frame by one frame froman imaging area of the electronic imaging section 203 b, and outputs theread frame image to the image processing section 205.

The image processing section 205 generates image data on an imageobtained by imaging the subject.

Specifically, after performing gain adjustment on an analog value signalof the frame image transferred from the electronic imaging section 203 bappropriately for each of RGB color components, the image processingsection 205 samples and holds the analog value signal of the frame imagein a sample-and-hold circuit (not illustrated), converts it to digitaldata in an A/D converter (not illustrated), and performs color processprocessing including pixel interpolation processing and γ correctionprocessing in a color process circuit (not illustrated) to generatedigital values of a luminance signal Y and color-difference signals Cb,Cr (YUV data).

Further, when a live view image is displayed on the controller unit 1,the image processing section 205 generates image data for display ofeach of frame images that constitute the live view image, and sends theimage data to the controller unit 1 through the first communicationsection 208 a.

Further, when the image is recorded, the image processing section 205compresses YUV data on the subject according to a predetermined codingsystem (such as JPEG format, motion JPEG format, or MPEG format) andoutputs the compressed data to the recording medium control section 206.

The recording medium control section 206 is configured to include arecording medium 206 a removably so as to control reading of data fromthe mounted recording medium 206 a and writing of data to the recordingmedium 206 a.

In other words, the recording medium control section 206 records, in apredetermined recording area of the recording medium 206 a, recordingimage data coded by the image processing section 205 in a predeterminedcompression format (such as JPEG format, motion JPEG format, or MPEGformat).

Note that the recording medium 206 a is, for example, a nonvolatilememory (flash memory), or the like.

The operation input section 207 is used to perform a predeterminedoperation on the camera unit 2A.

Specifically, for example, the operation input section 207 includes apower button related to power ON/OFF of the device body, a releasebutton and a movie button related to imaging instructions on a subject,selection and OK buttons related to selection instructions to selectmodes, functions, and the like (all of which are not illustrated).

Then, when any of various buttons is operated by the user, the operationinput section 207 outputs, to the central control section 201, anoperation instruction corresponding to the operated button. The centralcontrol section 201 causes each section to perform a predeterminedoperation according to the input operation instruction output from theoperation input section 207.

The communication section 208 performs personal wireless communicationwith the controller unit 1.

Specifically, the communication section 208 has a similar configurationto that of the communication section 107 in the controller unit 1,including a first communication section 208 a which performscommunication on condition that both the camera unit 2A and thecontroller unit 1 are in the power-on state and in a state capable ofsending and receiving images at a predetermined speed, and a secondcommunication section 208 b which cannot send and receive images at thepredetermined speed but can perform communication even when either oneof the camera units 2A and the controller unit 1 is in a sleep state.

The first communication section (sending section) 208 a performscommunication in conformity with the standards of Wi-Fi (WirelessFidelity) (registered trademark).

The second communication section 208 b performs communication inconformity with the standards of Bluetooth (registered trademark).

Note that each of the first communication section 208 a and the secondcommunication section 208 b is composed of an antenna, a demodulationcircuit, a signal processing circuit, and the like.

For example, the timing section 209 is configured to include a timer, atiming circuit, and the like to measure current time and acquire thetime information.

<Communication Connection>

Next, communication connection between the controller unit 1 and each ofthe camera units 2A and 2B will be described.

In the multi-connection camera system 100 of the embodiment, forexample, communication setting processing called pairing is performed inadvance between the controller unit 1 and each of the camera units 2Aand 2B to exchange each other's device information and data onauthentication keys using wireless signals. After that, for example,when the controller unit 1 and the camera unit 2A are apart from eachother in a range where radio waves are not received, the Bluetoothstandard communication connection is released, while when both comeclose to each other in a range where radio waves are received, theBluetooth standard communication connection is established withoutperforming the communication setting processing each time. Further, theWi-Fi standard communication settings are also automatically configuredby performing the pairing.

In the multi-connection camera system 100 of the embodiment, forexample, when image data are acquired from the camera unit 2A, Wi-Ficonnection is established after the Bluetooth standard communicationconnection between the controller unit 1 and the camera unit 2A isestablished. Then, the controller unit 1 acquires image data from thecamera unit 2A through the first communication section 107 a. Uponcompletion of acquisition of the image data from the camera unit 2A, thecontroller unit 1 disconnects the Wi-Fi connection through the Bluetoothstandard communication.

<Securing of Synchronization>

Next, securing of synchronization between the controller unit 1 and eachof the camera units 2A and 2B will be described.

In the multi-connection camera system 100 of the embodiment, there is aneed to synchronize the controller unit 1 with each of the camera units2A and 2B before the start of all shooting with each of the camera units2A and 2B. As the synchronization method, for example, there is a methodof synchronizing clocks (real times) between the controller unit 1 andeach of the camera units 2A and 2B. In such a case, the start time ofall shooting may be different between the camera units 2A and 2B,respectively.

In addition to the method of synchronizing clocks (real times), there isa synchronization method in which timer counting is startedsimultaneously between the controller unit 1 and each of the cameraunits 2A and 2B to synchronize both. In such a case, there is no needfor the controller unit 1 and each of the camera units 2A and 2B to usethe real times.

<All Shooting with Each of Camera Units 2A and 2B>

Next, a method of starting and ending all shooting with each of thecamera units 2A and 2B will be described.

When all shooting with each of the camera units 2A and 2B is started, apredetermined operation button (not illustrated) provided in each of thecamera units 2A and 2B is operated to start the all shooting. On theother hand, when all shooting with each of the camera units 2A and 2B isended, a predetermined operation button (not illustrated) provided ineach of the camera units 2A and 2B is operated to end the all shooting.

When the Bluetooth standard communication connection is establishedbetween the controller unit 1 and each of the camera units 2A and 2B,not only can the all shooting with each of the camera units 2A and 2B bestarted, but also the all shooting can be ended by remote control fromthe controller unit 1.

<Shooting Instruction Method>

Next, a shooting instruction method with a user's operation on thecontroller unit 1 will be described.

For example, when a shooting instruction related to video shooting isgiven, a toggle type movie button provided in the controller unit 1 isoperated at timing desired by the user.

On the other hand, when a shooting instruction related to still imageshooting is given, a release button provided in the controller unit 1 isoperated at timing desired by the user.

<Log>

Next, a log recorded when a shooting instruction is given will bedescribed.

As described above, when the toggle type movie button provided in thecontroller unit 1 is operated, “video shooting” indicative of a kind ofshooting instruction is associated with the “operation time” at whichthe user's operation related to the shooting instruction is performed,and recorded as the log on the recording medium 105 a. The movie buttonoperations include an ON operation as an instruction operation to startshooting and an OFF operation as an instruction operation to endshooting. However, depending on the kind of shooting instruction mode tobe described below, since there may be a case where the end of shootingwith the camera unit 2A and the start of shooting with the camera unit2B correspond to one shooting instruction (for example, in the case ofan “exclusive acquisition” mode, see timing T2 in FIG. 5B), informationindicative of a distinction between the ON operation and the OFFoperation is not recorded.

On the other hand, when the release button provided in the controllerunit 1 is operated, “still image shooting” indicative of another kind ofshooting instruction is associated with the “operation time” at whichthe user's operation related to the shooting instruction is performed,and recorded as the log on the recording medium 105 a.

<Kinds of Shooting Instruction Modes>

Next, kinds of shooting instruction modes will be described.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a selection screen forshooting instruction modes, which is displayed on the display section103 of the controller unit 1.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, three kinds of modes, i.e., “direct shooting”mode, “edit-later” mode, and “automatic” mode, are roughly provided inadvance as the shooting instruction modes, and any mode is selectable byoperating an option button associated with the mode desired by the user.Each of the modes will be described below.

The “direct shooting” mode is a mode used when the Bluetooth standardcommunication connection is established between the controller unit 1and each of the camera units 2A and 2B. In the “direct shooting” mode,when the shooting instruction is given with the user's operation on thecontroller unit 1, the controller unit 1 identifies either of the cameraunit 2A and the camera unit 2B according to the shooting instruction,and performs shooting and recording with the identified camera unit (forexample, the camera unit 2A) only for time at which the shootinginstruction is given.

The “edit-later” mode is a mode used when the Bluetooth standardcommunication connection is not established between the controller unit1 and each of the camera units 2A and 2B (for example, when the “directshooting” mode cannot be used, or the like). In the “edit-later” mode,when all shooting is performed with each of the camera units 2A and 2B,and during the all shooting, the shooting instruction is given with theuser's operation on the controller unit 1, the kind of shootinginstruction is associated with the operation time at which the user'soperation related to the shooting instruction is performed, and recordedas the log on the recording medium 105 a. Then, after completion of theall shooting with each of the camera units 2A and 2B, when thecommunication connection is established between the controller unit 1and each of the camera units 2A and 2B, only image data on the temporalpart corresponding to the log are acquired from the all shot video.

Further, as illustrated in FIG. 4, six kinds of modes, i.e., an“alternating acquisition” mode, an “exclusive acquisition” mode, a“continuous acquisition” mode, a “dividing acquisition” mode, a “nestedacquisition” mode, and an “extracting acquisition” mode, are provided inadvance in the “edit-later” mode, and any mode is selectable byoperating the option button associated with the mode desired by theuser.

Note that the “alternating acquisition” mode, the “exclusiveacquisition” mode, the “continuous acquisition” mode, and the “dividingacquisition” mode to be described below are modes for imaging an imagingrange different depending on each of the camera units 2A and 2B, forexample, and suitable for switching between the camera units as targetsto acquire image data according to the moving subject. On the otherhand, the “nested acquisition” mode and the “extracting acquisition”mode are modes on the assumption that wide-angle shooting is performedwith the camera unit 2A and telephoto shooting with the camera unit 2Bis performed on a predetermined range included in the range of imagingwith the camera unit 2A.

The “alternating acquisition” mode is a mode for alternately switchingbetween the camera units as targets to acquire image data each timeshooting instructions (shooting start instruction and shooting endinstruction) related to video shooting are given by the controller unit1, that is, each time a series of ON/OFF operations of the movie buttonis performed.

In the case where the “alternating acquisition” mode is set asillustrated in FIG. 5A, for example, when the ON operation of the moviebutton is performed at timing T1, it means that an instruction to startvideo shooting with the camera unit 2A (corresponding to camera unit Ain FIG. 5A; the same hereinafter) is given. Then, when the OFF operationof the movie button is performed at timing T2, it means that aninstruction to end video shooting with the camera unit 2A is given.Next, when the ON operation of the movie button is performed again attiming T3, it means that the instruction to start video shooting withthe camera unit 2B (corresponding to camera unit B in FIG. 5A; the samehereinafter) is given. Then, when the OFF operation of the movie buttonis performed at timing T4, it means that the instruction to end videoshooting with the camera unit 2B is given.

In other words, in each of timing periods from T1 to T2, and from T5 toT6, each period's image in a video all shot with the camera unit 2Abecomes an acquisition target. On the other hand, in a timing periodfrom T3 to T4, the period's image in the video all shot with the cameraunit 2B becomes the acquisition target.

Further, in the case where the “alternating acquisition” mode is set asillustrated in FIG. 5A, for example, when the release button is operatedat timings Ta and Tc, images (frame images) at timings Ta and Tc in thevideo all shot with camera units (the camera unit 2B at timing Ta, andthe camera unit 2A at timing Tc), which are not video acquisitiontargets at timings Ta and Tc, become acquisition targets. Further, whenthe release button is operated at timings Tb and Td, neither the cameraunit 2A nor the camera unit 2B are video acquisition targets at timingsTb and Td. In such a case, images (frame images) at timings Tb and Td inthe video all shot with the preset camera unit 2A becomes acquisitiontargets.

The “exclusive acquisition” mode is a mode where the target to which theshooting instruction related to video shooting is given by thecontroller unit 1 is the camera unit 2A alone so that the camera unit 2Awill be set as an image data acquisition target for a period in whichthe series of ON/OFF operations of the movie button are performed, whilethe camera unit 2B will be set as the image data acquisition target forany period other than the period in which the camera unit 2A is set asthe image data acquisition target, i.e., for a period from when the OFFoperation of the movie button is performed until the ON operation isperformed again.

In the case where the “exclusive acquisition” mode is set as illustratedin FIG. 5B, for example, when the ON operation of the movie button isperformed at timing T1, it means that the instruction to start videoshooting with the camera unit 2A is given. Then, when the OFF operationof the movie button is performed at timing T2, it means that theinstruction to end video shooting with the camera unit 2A is given.Similarly, when the ON operation of the movie button is performed attimings T3 and T5, it means that the instruction to start video shootingwith the camera unit 2A is given. Then, when the OFF operation of themovie button is performed at timings T4 and T6, it means that theinstruction to end video shooting with the camera unit 2A is given.

In other words, in each of timing periods from T1 to T2, from T3 to T4,and from T5 to T6, each period's image in the video all shot with thecamera unit 2A becomes the acquisition target. On the other hand, ineach of timing periods from T2 to T3 and from T4 to T5, each period'simage in the video all shot with the camera unit 2B becomes theacquisition target.

Further, in the case where the “exclusive acquisition” mode is set asillustrated in FIG. 5B, for example, when the release button is operatedat timings Ta, Tb, Tc, and Td, images (frame images) at timings Ta, Tb,Tc, and Td in videos all shot with camera units (the camera unit 2B attimings Ta and Tc, and the camera unit 2A at timings Tb and Td), whichare not the video acquisition targets at timings Ta, Tb, Tc, and Td,become acquisition targets.

The “continuous acquisition” mode is a mode where the target to whichthe shooting instruction related to video shooting is given by thecontroller unit 1 is the camera unit 2A alone so that the camera unit 2Awill be set as the image data acquisition target for a period in whichthe series of ON/OFF operations of the movie button are performed, whilethe camera unit 2B will be set as the image data acquisition target forany period having the same length as that of the period of the series ofON/OFF operations of the movie button after the OFF operation of themovie button.

In the case where the “continuous acquisition” mode is set asillustrated in FIG. 5C, for example, when the ON operation of the moviebutton is performed at timing T1, it means that the instruction to startvideo shooting with the camera unit 2A is given. Then, when the OFFoperation of the movie button is performed at timing T2, it means thatthe instruction to end video shooting with the camera unit 2A is given.Similarly, when the ON operation of the movie button is performed attimings T3 and T5, it means that the instruction to start video shootingwith the camera unit 2A is given. Then, when the OFF operation of themovie button is performed at timings T4 and T6, it means that theinstruction to end video shooting with the camera unit 2A is given.

In other words, in each of timing periods from T1 to T2, from T3 to T4,and from T5 to T6, each period's image in the video all shot with thecamera unit 2A becomes the acquisition target. Then, in each of timingperiods, which uses timing T2 as the start point and has the same lengthas the length of the timing period from T1 to T2, which uses timing T4as the start point and has the same length as the length of the timingperiod from T3 to T4, or which uses timing T6 as the start point and hasthe same length as the length of the timing period from T5 to T6,respectively, each period's image in the video all shot with the cameraunit 2B becomes the acquisition target.

Note that a predetermined time (for example, a fixed time or a timecorresponding to the length of the period in which the series of ON/OFFoperations of the movie button is performed) may be spared before thestart of acquisition of image data from the camera unit 2B. Further, theperiod of setting the camera unit 2A as the image data acquisitiontarget, and the period of setting the camera unit 2B as the image dataacquisition target may overlap each other.

Further, in the case where the “continuous acquisition” mode is set asillustrated in FIG. 5C, for example, when the release button is operatedat timings Ta and Tc, images (frame images) at timings Ta and Tc invideos all shot with camera units (the camera unit 2B at timing Ta, andthe camera unit 2A at timing Tc), which are not video acquisitiontargets at timings Ta and Tc, become acquisition targets. In such acase, images (frame images) at timings Ta′ and Tc′ in videos all shotwith camera units (the camera unit 2A at timing Ta′, and the camera unit2A at timing Tc′), which are not video acquisition targets atpredetermined timings after one camera unit as the video acquisitiontarget is switched to the other at timings T2 and T4 (timing Ta′ afterthe same length of period as the period from timing T1 to timing Ta haselapsed from timing T2, and timing Tc′ after the same length of periodas the period from timing T3 to timing Tc has elapsed from timing T4).

Further, when the release button is operated at timings Tb and Td,neither the camera unit 2A nor the camera unit 2B are video acquisitiontargets at timings Tb and Td. In such a case, images (frame images) attimings Tb and Td in the video all shot with the preset camera unit 2Abecomes acquisition targets.

The “dividing acquisition” mode is a mode where the period of performingthe series of ON/OFF operations of the movie button is so divided thatthe camera unit 2A will be set as the image data acquisition target in afirst half of the period and the camera unit 2B will be set as the imagedata acquisition target in a second half of the period.

Suppose that the “dividing acquisition” mode is set as illustrated inFIG. 5D. Suppose further that the OFF operation of the movie button isperformed at timing T2 after the ON operation of the movie button isperformed at timing T1. In this case, in the first half (T1 to T12) ofthe period from timing T1 to timing T2, the period's image in the videoall shot with the camera unit 2A becomes the acquisition target. On theother hand, in the second half (T12 to T2) of the period, the period'simage in the video all shot with the camera unit 2B becomes theacquisition target. Similarly, suppose that the OFF operation of themovie button is performed at timing T4 after the ON operation of themovie button is performed at timing T3. In this case, in the first half(T3 to T32) of the period from timing T3 to timing T4, the period'simage in the video all shot with the camera unit 2A becomes theacquisition target. On the other hand, in the second half (T32 to T4) ofthe period, the period's image in the video all shot with the cameraunit 2B becomes the acquisition target. Suppose further that the OFFoperation of the movie button is performed at timing T6 after the ONoperation of the movie button is performed at timing T5. In this case,in the first half (T5 to T52) of the period from timing T5 to timing T6,the period's image in the video all shot with the camera unit 2A becomesthe acquisition target. On the other hand, in the second half (T52 toT6) of the period, the period's image in the video all shot with thecamera unit 2B becomes the acquisition target.

Note that a predetermined time (for example, a fixed time or a timecorresponding to the length of the period in which the series of ON/OFFoperations of the movie button is performed) may be spared between thefirst half period of setting the camera unit 2A as the image dataacquisition target and the second half period of setting the camera unit2B as the image data acquisition target. Further, the first half periodof setting the camera unit 2A as the image data acquisition target andthe second half period of setting the camera unit 2B as the image dataacquisition target may overlap each other.

In the case where the “dividing acquisition” mode is set as illustratedin FIG. 5D, for example, when the release button is operated at timingsTa and Tc, images (frame images) at timings Ta and Tc in the videos allshot with camera units (the camera unit 2B at timing Ta, and the cameraunit 2A at timing Tc), which are not video acquisition targets attimings Ta and Tc, become acquisition targets. Further, when the releasebutton is operated at timings Tb and Td, neither the camera unit 2A northe camera unit 2B are video acquisition targets at timings Tb and Td.In such a case, images (frame images) at timings Tb and Td in the videoall shot with the preset camera unit 2A becomes acquisition targets.

The “nested acquisition” mode is a mode where the target to which theshooting instruction related to video shooting is given by thecontroller unit 1 is the camera unit 2A alone so that the camera unit 2Awill be set as the image data acquisition target for periods, i.e., afirst period of performing the series of ON/OFF operations of the moviebutton, and a second period of performing the series of ON/OFFoperations of the movie button again, respectively, while the cameraunit 2B will be set as the image data acquisition target for a periodbetween the first period and the second period.

In the case where the “nested acquisition” mode is set as illustrated inFIG. 5E, for example, when the OFF operation of the movie button isperformed at timing T2 after the ON operation of the movie button isperformed at timing T1, the image in the first period from timing T1 totiming T2 in the video all shot with the camera unit 2A becomes theacquisition target. Then, when the OFF operation of the movie button isperformed at timing T4 after the ON operation of the movie button isperformed again at timing T3, the image in the second period from timingT3 to timing T4 in the video all shot with the camera unit 2A becomesthe acquisition target. Then, in a period (T2 to T3) between the firstperiod and the second period, the period's image in the video all shotwith the camera unit 2B becomes the acquisition target.

Note that the targets to which the shooting instructions related tovideo shooting is given by the controller unit 1 are regarded asmultistep toggle type ON/OFF operations to both the camera unit 2A andthe camera unit 2B so that, after the ON operation to the camera unit 2Aand the ON operation to the camera unit 2B, the order of a series ofoperations of the movie button will be reversed to the OFF operation tothe camera unit 2B and the OFF operation of the camera unit 2A, thusnesting the ON/OFF operations to the camera unit 2B in the ON/OFFoperations to the camera unit 2A.

In the case where the “nested acquisition” mode is set as illustrated inFIG. 5E, for example, when the release button is operated at timings Ta,Tb, and Tc, images (frame images) at timings Ta, Tb, and Tc in videosall shot with camera units (the camera unit 2B at timings Ta and Tc, andthe camera unit 2A at timing Tb), which are not the video acquisitiontargets at timing Ta, Tb, and Tc, respectively, become acquisitiontargets. Further, when the release button is operated at timing Td,neither the camera unit 2A nor the camera unit 2B are the videoacquisition targets at timing Td. In such a case, an image (frame image)at timing Td in the video all shot with the preset camera unit 2Abecomes the acquisition target.

The “extracting acquisition” mode is a mode where the target to whichthe shooting instruction related to video shooting is given by thecontroller unit 1 is the camera unit 2A alone so that the camera unit 2Bwill be set as the image data acquisition target for a predeterminedperiod in the middle of a period in which a series of ON/OFF operationsof the movie button is performed, while the camera unit 2A will be setas the image data acquisition target for periods other than thepredetermined period in the middle of the period.

In the case where the “extracting acquisition” mode is set asillustrated in FIG. 5F, for example, when the OFF operation of the moviebutton is performed at timing T2 after the ON operation of the moviebutton is performed at timing T1, for the predetermined period (forexample, T11 to T13) in the middle of the period between timings T1 andT2, the period's image in the video all shot with the camera unit 2Bbecomes the acquisition target. On the other hand, for periods (forexample, T1 to T11 and T13 to T2) other than the predetermined period inthe middle of the period between timings T1 and T2, the periods' imagesin the video all shot with the camera unit 2A become the acquisitiontargets. Similarly, when the OFF operation of the movie button isperformed at timing T4 after the ON operation of the movie button isperformed at timing T3, for the predetermined period (for example, T31to T33) in the middle of the period between timings T3 and T4, theperiod's image in the video all shot with the camera unit 2B becomes theacquisition target. On the other hand, for periods (for example, T3 toT31 and T33 to T4) other than the predetermined period in the middle ofthe period between timings T3 and T4, the periods' images in the videoall shot with the camera unit 2A become the acquisition targets.Further, when the OFF operation of the movie button is performed attiming T6 after the ON operation of the movie button is performed attiming T5, for the predetermined period (for example, T51 to T53) in themiddle of the period between timings T5 and T6, the period's image inthe video all shot with the camera unit 2B becomes the acquisitiontarget. On the other hand, for periods (for example, T5 to T51 and T53to T6) other than the predetermined period in the middle of the periodbetween timings T5 and T6, the periods' images in the video all shotwith the camera unit 2A become the acquisition targets.

Further, in the case where the “extracting acquisition” mode is set asillustrated in FIG. 5F, for example, when the release button is operatedat timings Ta and Tc, images (frame images) at timings Ta and Tc in thevideo all shot with the camera unit 2B, which is not the videoacquisition target, become the acquisition targets. Further, when therelease button is operated at timings Tb and Td, neither the camera unit2A nor the camera unit 2B are the video acquisition targets at timingsTb and Td. In such a case, images (frame images) at timings Tb and Td inthe video all shot with the preset camera unit 2A become the acquisitiontargets.

The “automatic” mode is a mode used when a camera unit (for example, thecamera unit 2A) whose Bluetooth standard communication connection withthe controller unit 1 is established, and a camera unit (for example,the camera unit 2B) without any communication connection are mixed. Inthe “automatic” mode, the “direct editing” mode and the “edit-later”mode are used for each camera unit depending on the status of theBluetooth standard communication connection with the controller unit 1.Specifically, when the “automatic” mode is set, each of the camera units2A and 2B performs all shooting like in the “edit-later” mode until theshooting instruction is received from the controller unit 1 through thesecond communication section 208 b. Then, when the shooting instructionis received from the controller unit 1 through the second communicationsection 208 b, each of the camera units 2A and 2B performs shooting andrecording only for time during which the shooting instruction is givenwith the user's operation on the controller unit 1 after the shootinginstruction is received like in the “direct shooting” mode.

<Acquisition of Image Data>

Next, the acquisition of image data by the controller unit 1 will bedescribed.

When the controller unit 1 is caused to acquire image data on a videoshot with each of the camera units 2A and 2B, the acquisition of imagedata is started by the user operating a predetermined button on thecontroller unit 1 in such a state that the communication connection isestablished between the controller unit 1 and each of the camera units2A and 2B.

Note that when the “edit-later” mode is set, the acquisition of imagedata on the all shot video may be started automatically by using, as atrigger, the establishment of communication connection between thecontroller unit 1 and each of the camera units 2A and 2B aftercompletion of the all shooting with each of the camera units 2A and 2B.

Next, partial image acquisition processing performed in themulti-connection camera system 100 of the embodiment will be described.Note that the partial image acquisition processing is processingperformed when the communication connection is established between thecontroller unit 1 and each of the camera units 2A and 2B aftercompletion of all shooting with each of the camera units 2A and 2B inthe “edit-later” mode described above.

FIG. 6 is a sequence diagram illustrating an example of the partialimage acquisition processing.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, each of the camera units 2A and 2B firstperforms all shooting (step S201), and records, on the recording medium105 a, the log each time the shooting instruction is given with theuser's operation on the controller unit 1 during the all shooting (stepS101).

Next, after completion of the all shooting with each of the camera units2A and 2B, the communication connection is made through the secondcommunication section 107 b of the controller unit 1 and the secondcommunication section 208 b of each of the camera units 2A and 2B (stepS102 and step S202).

Then, when the communication connection between the controller unit 1and each of the camera units 2A and 2B is established, each of thecamera units 2A and 2B sends the controller unit 1 all shot image datathrough the first communication section 208 a (step S203), and thepartial image acquisition processing is ended.

On the other hand, the controller unit 1 acquires image data on a part(temporal part) corresponding to the log recorded on the recordingmedium 105 a based on the all shot image data received from each of thecamera units 2A and 2B through the first communication section 107 a(step S103). Specifically, the controller unit 1 determines the kind of“edit-later” mode set at this time (“alternating acquisition” mode,“exclusive acquisition” mode, “continuous acquisition” mode, “dividingacquisition” mode, “nested acquisition” mode, or “extractingacquisition” mode), acquires the image data on the part (temporal part)corresponding to the content of the log (the kind of shootinginstruction (“video shooting” or “still image shooting”) and the“operation time” at which the user's operation related to this shootinginstruction is performed) from the all shot image data received fromeach of the camera units 2A and 2B, and ends the partial imageacquisition processing.

In the partial image acquisition processing of the embodiment, the allshot image data are sent from each of the camera units 2A and 2B to thecontroller unit 1 to acquire image data on the part (temporal part)corresponding to the log on the side of the controller unit 1, but thepresent invention is not limited thereto. An operation instruction ofthe movie button based on the log may be sent from the controller unit 1so that each of the camera units 2A and 2B will send the controller unit1 image data on the part (temporal part) corresponding to the log basedon the received operation instruction, and the controller unit 1 willacquire a partial image. Further, the log may be sent from thecontroller unit 1 directly to each of the camera units 2A and 2B so thateach of the camera units 2A and 2B will send the controller unit 1 imagedata on the part (temporal part) corresponding to the log based on thereceived log, and the controller unit 1 will acquire the partial image.

Further, in the partial image acquisition processing of the embodiment,the controller unit 1 acquires partial image data from each of thecamera units 2A and 2B through communication connection, but the partialimage data may be acquired through a storage medium instead of thecommunication connection.

As described above, the controller unit 1 that constitutes part of themulti-connection camera system 100 of the embodiment is to acquireinstruction information (log) corresponding to the instructioninformation for acquiring the image, that is, the time informationrelated to time at which the image is acquired. Further, the controllerunit 1 is to acquire the image of the temporal part indicated by thetime information corresponding to the instruction information from eachof plural videos recorded continuously in terms of time, synchronizedwith the time information corresponding to the instruction informationacquired, and different in content from each other.

Therefore, when the communication state between the controller unit 1and each of the camera units 2A and 2B is unstable, the controller unit1 prerecords the instruction information (log) for acquiring the imageso that, when the communication connection between the controller unit 1and each of the camera units 2A and 2B is established, the image of thetemporal part indicated by time information corresponding to theinstruction information can be acquired from each of the plural videosreceived from the camera units 2A and 2B, synchronized with the timeinformation corresponding to the instruction information, and differentin content from each other. Thus, the controller unit 1 can surelyacquire the image of the part corresponding to the instruction from thevideo shot (all shot) with each of the camera units 2A and 2B regardlessof the presence or absence of the communication connection with each ofthe camera units 2A and 2B, and the communication state.

Further, based on a difference between pieces of the time informationcorresponding to respective pieces of the instruction information (log),the controller unit 1 identifies the temporal part different among theplural videos, respectively, to acquire the image of the temporal partdifferent among the plural videos, respectively, according to anidentification result.

Therefore, since the image of an appropriately different temporal partcan be acquired from each of the plural videos even when the user doesnot perform the instruction operation as to from which of the pluralvideos the image is to be acquired, operability upon acquisition of theimage of the temporal part different among the plural videos,respectively, can be improved.

Further, based on a difference in temporal order of pieces of the timeinformation corresponding to respective pieces of the instructioninformation (log), the controller unit 1 identifies the temporal partdifferent among plural videos, respectively.

Therefore, based on the temporal order of the pieces of the timeinformation corresponding to the respective pieces of the instructioninformation (log), since the image of the appropriately differenttemporal part can be acquired from each of the plural videos even whenthe user does not perform the instruction operation as to from which ofthe plural videos the image is to be acquired, the operability uponacquisition of the image of the temporal part different among the pluralvideos, respectively, can be improved.

Further, based on a difference in temporal length between pieces of thetime information corresponding to respective pieces of the instructioninformation (log), the controller unit 1 identifies the temporal partdifferent among the plural videos, respectively.

Therefore, based on the difference in the temporal length between thepieces of the time information corresponding to the respective pieces ofthe instruction information (log), since the image of the appropriatelydifferent temporal part can be acquired from each of the plural videoseven when the user does not perform the instruction operation as to fromwhich of the plural videos the image is to be acquired, the operabilityupon acquisition of the image of the temporal part different among theplural videos, respectively, can be improved.

Further, the controller unit 1 sets the instruction information (log) asinstruction information on one video of the plural videos based on thedifference between pieces of the time information corresponding torespective pieces of the instruction information to identify a temporalpart identified in another video of the plural videos as being differentfrom the temporal part identified in the one video. Further, accordingto the identification result, the controller unit 1 acquires, from theone video, the image of the temporal part indicated by the timeinformation, and acquires, from another video, an image of the temporalpart different from the temporal part identified in the one video.

Therefore, since the image of the appropriately different temporal partcan be acquired from each of the plural videos merely by giving theshooting instruction on the one video of the plural videos even when theuser does not perform the instruction operation as to from which of theplural videos the image is to be acquired, the operability uponacquisition of the image of the temporal part different among the pluralvideos, respectively, can be improved.

Further, since the controller unit 1 acquires an image of a temporalpart from each of the plural videos synchronized with one another byplural imaging sections (the camera units 2A and 2B) and continuouslyshot in terms of time, a subject image at a desired angle can beacquired, for example, for each elapsed time.

Embodiment 2

Next, a multi-connection camera system 200 of Embodiment 2 will bedescribed. Note that components similar to those in Embodiment 1 aregiven the same reference numerals to omit redundant description.

The multi-connection camera system 200 of Embodiment 2 features that the“direct shooting” mode and the “edit-later” mode described above areswitched appropriately depending on the communication state between thecontroller unit 1 and each of the plural camera units 2, . . . .

In the following, the description will be made by focusing on the onecamera unit 2A in the plural camera units 2, . . . and the controllerunit 1.

FIG. 7A to FIG. 7E are timing charts indicative of image dataacquisition patterns A to E according to the communication state betweenthe controller unit 1 and the camera unit 2A. Note that each of thetiming charts of FIG. 7A to FIG. 7E corresponds to each of theacquisition patterns A to E.

First, the acquisition pattern A will be described.

As illustrated in the acquisition pattern A of FIG. 7A, during a periodbetween timings T100 and T103, where the communication connectionbetween the controller unit 1 and the camera unit 2A (corresponding tothe camera unit in FIG. 7A; the same hereinafter) is established, the“direct shooting” mode is set in the controller unit 1. Then, in thecontroller unit 1, for example, when the ON operation of the moviebutton is performed at timing T101 and the OFF operation of the moviebutton is performed at timing T102 during the period, the camera unit 2Aperforms shooting and recording only for a period of time (from timingT101 to timing T102) during which these operations are performed, andthe controller unit 1 acquires image data shot and recorded during thistime.

Then, at timing T103, when the communication connection between thecontroller unit 1 and the camera unit 2A is disconnected, the“edit-later” mode is set in the controller unit 1, and all shootingdescribed above is automatically performed with the camera unit 2A.Further, in the camera unit 2A, disconnection-time state informationindicating whether a state at timing T103 was a state during shooting ora state of being stopped is temporarily stored in the memory 102. Here,disconnection-time state information indicating that the state was thestate of being stopped is temporarily stored. Then, in the controllerunit 1, for example, when the ON operation of the movie button isperformed at timing T105, and the OFF operation of the movie button isperformed at timing T106, the operations are regarded as a shootinginstruction, and recorded as a log on the recording medium 105 a. likein Embodiment 1 described above, even in the embodiment, informationindicative of a distinction between the ON operation and the OFFoperation is not recorded. Then, in the controller unit 1, when thecommunication connection with the camera unit 2A is established, imagedata on a part (timing T105 to timing T106) corresponding to the log areacquired from all shot video.

Then, at timing T107, when the communication connection between thecontroller unit 1 and the camera unit 2A is established again, the“direct shooting” mode is set in the controller unit 1, and based on thedisconnection-time state information stored in the memory 102, and thelog recorded on the recording medium 105 a of the controller unit 1, itis identified in the camera unit 2A as to whether the state is the stateduring shooting or the state of being stopped. Since the operation ofthe movie button is recorded in the log as a toggle type operation, evenif the information indicative of the distinction between the ONoperation and the OFF operation is not recorded, it can be identifiedwhether the state at the time of starting the connection (timing T107)is the state during shooting or the state of being stopped from thedisconnection-time state information stored in the memory 102, whichindicates the start of recording the log, and the number of times themovie button is operated, which is recorded in the log. Here, in thecase of the acquisition pattern A, since the disconnection-time stateinformation stored in the memory 102 is information indicative of thestate of being stopped, and the number of operations of the movie buttonrecorded in the log is two, the last operation (timing T106) of themovie button is the OFF operation, and the state at timing T107 isidentified as the state of being stopped. Therefore, in the camera unit2A, the all shooting is ended at timing T107. Then, in the controllerunit 1, for example, when the ON operation of the movie button isperformed at timing T108 and the OFF operation of the movie button isperformed at timing T109, the camera unit 2A performs shooting andrecording only for a period of time (from timing T108 to timing T109)during which these operations are performed, and the controller unit 1acquires image data shot and recorded during this time.

Next, the acquisition pattern B will be described.

As illustrated in the acquisition pattern B of FIG. 7B, during a periodbetween timings T100 and T103, where the communication connectionbetween the controller unit 1 and the camera unit 2A is established, the“direct shooting” mode is set in the controller unit 1. Then, duringthis period, for example, when the ON operation of the movie button isperformed at timing T101 in the controller unit 1, the camera unit 2Abecomes a state in which shooting and recording are started by usingthis operation as a trigger.

Then, at timing T103, when the communication connection between thecontroller unit 1 and the camera unit 2A is disconnected, the“edit-later” mode is set in the controller unit 1, and shooting andrecording are continuously performed in the camera unit 2A. Further, inthe camera unit 2A, the disconnection-time state information indicatingwhether the state at timing T103 was the state during shooting or thestate of being stopped is temporarily stored in the memory 102. Then, inthe controller unit 1, for example, when the OFF operation of the moviebutton is performed at timing T104, the ON operation of the movie buttonis performed at timing T105, and the OFF operation of the movie buttonis performed at timing T106, the operations are regarded as the shootinginstruction, and recorded as the log on the recording medium 105 a.Then, in the controller unit 1, when the communication connection withthe camera unit 2A is established, image data on parts (timing T103 totiming T104, and timing T105 to timing T106) corresponding to the logare acquired from the all shot video.

Subsequently, at timing T107, when the communication connection betweenthe controller unit 1 and the camera unit 2A is established again, the“direct shooting” mode is set in the controller unit 1, and based on thedisconnection-time state information (the state during shooting) storedin the memory 102, and the log (the number of operations of the moviebutton is three) recorded on the recording medium 105 a of thecontroller unit 1, it is identified in the camera unit 2A as to whetherthe state is the state during shooting or the state of being stopped.Here, in the case of the acquisition pattern B, since thedisconnection-time state information stored in the memory 102 isinformation indicative of the state during shooting, and the number ofoperations of the movie button recorded in the log is three, the lastoperation (timing T106) of the movie button is the OFF operation, andthe state at timing T107 is identified as the state of being stopped.Therefore, in the camera unit 2A, the all shooting is ended at timingT107. Then, in the controller unit 1, for example, when the ON operationof the movie button is performed at timing T108 and the OFF operation ofthe movie button is performed at timing T109, the camera unit 2Aperforms shooting and recording only for a period of time (from timingT108 to timing T109) during which these operations are performed, andthe controller unit 1 acquires image data shot and recorded during thistime.

Next, the acquisition pattern C will be described.

As illustrated in the acquisition pattern C of FIG. 7C, during a periodbetween timings T100 and T103, where the communication connectionbetween the controller unit 1 and the camera unit 2A is established, the“direct shooting” mode is set in the controller unit 1. Then, duringthis period, for example, when the ON operation of the movie button isperformed at timing T101 in the controller unit 1, the camera unit 2Abecomes a state in which shooting and recording are started by usingthis operation as a trigger.

Then, at timing T103, when the communication connection between thecontroller unit 1 and the camera unit 2A is disconnected, the“edit-later” mode is set in the controller unit 1, and shooting andrecording are continuously performed in the camera unit 2A. Further, inthe camera unit 2A, the disconnection-time state information indicatingwhether the state at timing T103 was the state during shooting or thestate of being stopped is temporarily stored in the memory 102. Then, inthe controller unit 1, for example, when the OFF operation of the moviebutton is performed at timing T104 and the ON operation of the moviebutton is performed at timing T105, the operations are regarded as theshooting instruction, and recorded as the log on the recording medium105 a. Then, in the controller unit 1, when the communication connectionwith the camera unit 2A is established, image data on parts (timing T103to timing T104, and timing T105 to timing T107) corresponding to the logare acquired from the all shot video.

Subsequently, at timing T107, when the communication connection betweenthe controller unit 1 and the camera unit 2A is established again, the“direct shooting” mode is set in the controller unit 1, and based on thedisconnection-time state information (the state during shooting) storedin the memory 102, and the log (the number of operations of the moviebutton is two) recorded on the recording medium 105 a of the controllerunit 1, it is identified in the camera unit 2A as to whether the stateis the state during shooting or the state of being stopped. Here, in thecase of the acquisition pattern C, since the disconnection-time stateinformation stored in the memory 102 is information indicative of thestate during shooting, and the number of operations of the movie buttonrecorded in the log is two, the last operation (timing T105) of themovie button is the ON operation, and the state at timing T107 isidentified as the state during shooting. Therefore, the camera unit 2Acontinues to perform all shooting at timing T107. Then, in thecontroller unit 1, for example, when the OFF operation of the moviebutton is performed at timing T108, the ON operation of the movie buttonis performed at timing T109, and the OFF operation of the movie buttonis performed at timing T110, the camera unit 2A performs shooting andrecording only for periods of time (from timing T107 to timing T108, andfrom timing T109 to timing T110) during which these operations areperformed, and the controller unit 1 acquires image data shot andrecorded during this time.

Next, the acquisition pattern D will be described.

As illustrated in the acquisition pattern D of FIG. 7D, during a periodbetween timings T100 and T103, where the communication connectionbetween the controller unit 1 and the camera unit 2A is established, thecamera unit 2A will not perform shooting and recording if neither the ONoperation nor the OFF operation of the movie button is performed in thecontroller unit 1.

Then, at timing T103, when the communication connection between thecontroller unit 1 and the camera unit 2A is disconnected, the“edit-later” mode is set in the controller unit 1, and the all shootingis automatically performed in the camera unit 2A. Further, in the cameraunit 2A, the disconnection-time state information indicating whether thestate at timing T103 was the state during shooting or the state of beingstopped is temporarily stored in the memory 102. Then, in the controllerunit 1, for example, when the ON operation of the movie button isperformed at timing T104, the OFF operation of the movie button isperformed at timing T105, and the ON operation of the movie button isperformed at timing T106, the operations are regarded as the shootinginstruction, and recorded as the log on the recording medium 105 a.Then, in the controller unit 1, when the communication connection withthe camera unit 2A is established, image data on parts (timing T104 totiming T105, and timing T106 to timing T107) corresponding to the logare acquired from the all shot video.

Subsequently, at timing T107, when the communication connection betweenthe controller unit 1 and the camera unit 2A is established again, the“direct shooting” mode is set in the controller unit 1, and based on thedisconnection-time state information (state of being stopped) stored inthe memory 102, and the log (the number of operations of the moviebutton is three) recorded on the recording medium 105 a of thecontroller unit 1, it is identified in the camera unit 2A as to whetherthe state is the state during shooting or the state of being stopped.Here, in the case of the acquisition pattern D, since thedisconnection-time state information stored in the memory 102 isinformation indicative of the state of being stopped, and the number ofoperations of the movie button recorded in the log is three, the lastoperation (timing T106) of the movie button is the ON operation, and thestate at timing T107 is identified as the state during shooting.Therefore, the camera unit 2A continues to perform the all shooting attiming T107. Then, in the controller unit 1, for example, when the OFFoperation of the movie button is performed at timing T108, the ONoperation of the movie button is performed at timing T109, and the OFFoperation of the movie button is performed at timing T110, the cameraunit 2A performs shooting and recording only for periods of time (fromtiming T107 to timing T108, and from timing T109 to timing T110) duringwhich these operations are performed, and the controller unit 1 acquiresimage data shot and recorded during this time.

Next, the acquisition pattern E will be described.

As illustrated in the acquisition pattern E of FIG. 7E, during a periodbetween timings T100 and T103, where the communication connectionbetween the controller unit 1 and the camera unit 2A is established, thecamera unit 2A will not perform shooting and recording if neither the ONoperation nor the OFF operation of the movie button is performed in thecontroller unit 1 like in the acquisition pattern D.

Then, at timing T103, when the communication connection between thecontroller unit 1 and the camera unit 2A is disconnected, the“edit-later” mode is set in the controller unit 1, and the all shootingis automatically performed in the camera unit 2A. Further, in the cameraunit 2A, the disconnection-time state information indicating whether thestate at timing T103 was the state during shooting or the state of beingstopped is temporarily stored in the memory 102. Then, in the controllerunit 1, for example, when the ON operation of the movie button isperformed at timing T104 and the OFF operation of the movie button isperformed at timing T105, the operations are regarded as the shootinginstruction, and recorded as the log on the recording medium 105 a.Then, in the controller unit 1, when the communication connection withthe camera unit 2A is established, image data on a part (timing T104 totiming T105) corresponding to the log are acquired from the all shotvideo.

In the embodiment, the controller unit 1 records the log only when thestate of communication with the camera unit 2A is disconnected, but thecontroller unit 1 may also record the log during connection. In thiscase, when the partial image acquisition processing is performed, theimage data shot in association with the “direct shooting” performedduring connection, and the image data acquired from the all shot imagedata by “editing later” during disconnection can be collectivelyacquired by the “editing later.”

Subsequently, at timing T107, when the communication connection betweenthe controller unit 1 and the camera unit 2A is established again, the“direct shooting” mode is set in the controller unit 1, and based on thedisconnection-time state information (state of being stopped) stored inthe memory 102, and the log (the number of operations of the moviebutton is two) recorded on the recording medium 105 a of the controllerunit 1, it is identified in the camera unit 2A as to whether the stateis the state during shooting or the state of being stopped. Here, in thecase of the acquisition pattern E, since the disconnection-time stateinformation stored in the memory 102 is information indicative of thestate of being stopped, and the number of operations of the movie buttonrecorded in the log is two, the last operation (timing T105) of themovie button is the OFF operation, and the state at timing T107 isidentified as the state of being stopped. Therefore, the all shooting inthe camera unit 2A is ended at timing T107. Then, in the controller unit1, for example, when the ON operation of the movie button is performedat timing T108 and the OFF operation of the movie button is performed attiming T109, the camera unit 2A performs shooting and recording only fora period of time (from timing T108 to timing T109) during which theseoperations are performed, and the controller unit 1 acquires image datashot and recorded during this time.

In the embodiment, only the video shooting instruction with theoperations of the movie button is described, but the embodiment may alsobe applied to the still image shooting with the operation of the releasebutton like in Embodiment 1.

As described above, the multi-connection camera system 200 of theembodiment includes the controller unit 1 and the plural camera units 2Aand 2B. Each of the plural camera units 2A and 2B controls the videoshooting by the imaging section 203 according to the shootinginstruction information received from the controller unit 1 throughcommunication, and detects the state of communication with thecontroller unit 1 to control the imaging section 203 to perform thevideo shooting continuously while the communication state is beingdetected to be the disconnected state regardless of the shootinginstruction information from the controller unit 1. Further, each of theplural camera units 2A and 2B acquires, after the connection, theshooting instruction information that has not been received while thecommunication state is being detected to be the disconnected state toidentify the temporal part corresponding to the shooting instructioninformation from the video shot by the imaging section 203 while thecommunication state is being detected to be the disconnected state.Further, the controller unit 1 acquires, from each of the plural cameraunits 2A and 2B, the image of the temporal part corresponding to theshooting instruction information identified by each of the plural cameraunits 2A and 2B.

Therefore, even when the state of communication with each of the cameraunits 2A and 2B is changed, the controller unit 1 can surely acquire theimage of the part according to the instruction from the video shot (allshot) with each of the camera units 2A and 2B.

Further, according to the multi-connection camera system 200 of theembodiment, since the shooting instruction information sent from thecontroller unit 1 is associated with the time information related to thetime, and the imaging control section 204 in each of the camera units 2Aand 2B controls shooting in synchronization with the controller unit 1,the image of the part according to the instruction can be surelyacquired from the video shot (all shot) with each of the camera units 2Aand 2B.

Further, according to the multi-connection camera system 200 of theembodiment, when the communication state to be detected is changed fromthe disconnected state to the connected state, each of the plural cameraunits 2A and 2B identifies whether the state is the state duringshooting or the state of being stopped while the communication statecontinues the connected state. Then, when the state during shooting isidentified, the imaging section 203 is controlled to maintain the stateduring shooting, while when the state of being stopped is identified,the imaging section 203 is controlled to stop shooting.

Thus, when the communication state is changed from the disconnectedstate to the connected state, if the state is identified as the state ofbeing stopped, power consumption can be reduced by stopping shootingwith each of the plural camera units 2A and 2B.

Further, according to the multi-connection camera system 200 of theembodiment, when the communication state is changed from the connectedstate to the disconnected state, each of the plural camera units 2A and2B stores the disconnection-time state information indicating whetherthe state is the state during shooting or the state of being stopped.Then, when the communication state is changed from the disconnectedstate to the connected state, it is identified, based on the storeddisconnection-time state information and the shooting instructioninformation sent from the controller unit 1, whether the state is thestate during shooting or the state of being stopped while thecommunication state continues the state of being connected so that, whenthe communication state between the controller unit 1 and each of theplural camera units 2A and 2B is changed from the disconnected state tothe connected state, it can be surely identified whether each of thecamera units 2A and 2B is in the state during shooting or the state ofbeing stopped.

Note that the present invention is not limited to each of theembodiments, and various improvements and design changes may be madewithout departing from the spirit of the present invention.

For example, although two camera units 2A and 2B are illustrated in theembodiments as the plural camera units 2, . . . , the present inventionis not limited thereto. The number of camera unit 2, . . . is notlimited to two, and it may be three or more.

Further, in each of the embodiments, in the case where any of the“continuous acquisition” mode, the “dividing acquisition” mode, the“nested acquisition” mode, and the “extracting acquisition” mode is setas the “edit-later” mode, when image data on a part corresponding to thelog are acquired from the video all shot with each of the camera units2A and 2B, the image data may be so acquired that image datarespectively from the camera units 2A and 2B will overlap each other interms of time.

Further, in each of the embodiments, the log used to acquire image dataon the part corresponding to the log from the video all shot with eachof the camera units 2A and 2B is not limited to the shooting instructionfrom the controller unit 1, and it may be a log related to a shootinginstruction from another controller unit different from the controllerunit 1.

Further, in each of the embodiments, the log is composed of theinformation indicative of the kind of the shooting instruction and thetime information indicative of the time at which the user's operationrelated to the shooting instruction is performed. However, when the logtarget is only the video shooting, only the time information at whichthe user's operation related to the video shooting instruction isperformed may be used.

Note that the present invention can not only be provided as the imageacquisition device, the image acquisition system, and the imagingdevice, which have the configuration prepared for implementing thefunctions according to the present invention, but also can be applied toa program to cause an existing information processing apparatus or thelike to function as the image acquisition device, the image acquisitionsystem, and the imaging device according to the present invention. Inother words, the program that implements each of the functionalconfigurations of the image acquisition device 1, the image acquisitionsystems 100, 200, and the imaging device 2 illustrated in theembodiments is so applied that a CPU or the like that controls theexisting information processing apparatus or the like can execute theprogram and that the existing information processing apparatus or thelike can function as each of the image acquisition device, the imageacquisition system, and the imaging device according to the presentinvention.

The method of applying such the program is optional. For example, theprogram can be stored on a computer-readable storage medium, such as aflexible disk, a CD (Compact Disc)-ROM, a DVD (Digital VersatileDisc)-ROM, or a memory card, and applied. Further, the program can alsobe superimposed on a carrier wave, and applied through a communicationmedium such as the Internet. For example, the program may be posted to abulletin board system (BBS) on a communication network, and delivered.Then, the existing information processing apparatus may be configured tostart and execute this program in the same manner as other applicationprograms under the control of an OS (Operating System) in order to beable to perform processing.

While the embodiments of the present invention have been described, thescope of the present invention is not limited to the above-describedembodiments, and the scope equivalent to the scope of appended claimsshould be included.

What is claimed is:
 1. An image acquisition device comprising: aninstruction information acquiring section which acquires instructioninformation used to acquire an image, where the instruction informationcorresponds to time information related to time to acquire the image;and a part acquisition section which acquires an image of a temporalpart indicated by the time information corresponding to the instructioninformation, from each of a plurality of videos recorded continuously interms of time, synchronized with the time information corresponding tothe instruction information acquired by the instruction informationacquiring section, and different in content from one another.
 2. Theimage acquisition device according to claim 1, further comprising anidentification section which identifies a temporal part different amongthe plurality of videos based on a difference among pieces of the timeinformation corresponding to respective pieces of the instructioninformation, wherein the part acquisition section acquires an image ofthe temporal part different among the plurality of videos according toan identification result by the identification section.
 3. The imageacquisition device according to claim 2, wherein the identificationsection identifies the temporal part different among the plurality ofvideos based on a difference in temporal order of the pieces of the timeinformation corresponding to the respective pieces of the instructioninformation.
 4. The image acquisition device according to claim 2,wherein the identification section identifies the temporal partdifferent among the plurality of videos based on a difference intemporal length among the pieces of the time information correspondingto the respective pieces of the instruction information.
 5. The imageacquisition device according to claim 2, wherein the instructioninformation is an instruction to one video among the plurality ofvideos, the identification section identifies, based on the differenceamong the pieces of the time information corresponding to the respectivepieces of the instruction information, a temporal part identified inanother video among the plurality of videos, which is different from atemporal part identified in the one video, and according to theidentification result by the identification section, the partacquisition section acquires an image of a temporal part, indicated bythe time information corresponding to the instruction information, fromthe one video, and acquires, from another video, an image of a temporalpart different from the temporal part identified in the one video. 6.The image acquisition device according to claim 1 further comprising aninstruction information recording section which acquires time, at whicha shooting instruction operation is performed, according to the shootinginstruction operation performed by a user, and records the time as theinstruction information, wherein the instruction information acquiringsection acquires the instruction information recorded by the instructioninformation recording section.
 7. The image acquisition device accordingto claim 1, wherein the part acquisition section acquires an image of atemporal part from each of the plurality of videos synchronized by aplurality of imaging sections and shot continuously in terms of time. 8.The image acquisition device according to claim 7, wherein each of theplurality of imaging sections is included in a different housing body,the image acquisition device further comprises a determination sectionwhich determines whether a plurality of the housing bodies isintegrated, and according to an determination result of thedetermination section, the part acquisition section makes an imageacquisition mode of the image of the temporal part from each of theplurality of videos different.
 9. The image acquisition device accordingto claim 8, wherein when it is determined by the determination sectionthat the housing bodies are integrated, the part acquisition sectionacquires an image of an identical temporal part from each of theplurality of videos, while when it is determined that the housing bodiesare not integrated, the part acquisition section acquires an image of adifferent temporal part from each of the plurality of videos.
 10. Animage acquisition method, comprising: an instruction informationacquiring process of acquiring instruction information used to acquirean image, where the instruction information corresponds to timeinformation related to time to acquire the image; and a part acquisitionprocess of acquiring an image of a temporal part indicated by the timeinformation corresponding to the instruction information, from each of aplurality of videos recorded continuously in terms of time, synchronizedwith the time information corresponding to the instruction informationacquired in the instruction information acquiring process, and differentin content from one another.
 11. A recording medium with a programstored thereon, the program causing a computer to implement: aninstruction information acquiring function of acquiring instructioninformation used to acquire an image, where the instruction informationcorresponds to time information related to time to acquire the image;and a part acquisition function of acquiring an image of a temporal partindicated by the time information corresponding to the instructioninformation, from each of a plurality of videos recorded continuously interms of time, synchronized with the time information corresponding tothe instruction information acquired by the instruction informationacquiring function, and different in content from one another.
 12. Animage acquisition system including an image acquisition device and aplurality of imaging devices, wherein the image acquisition devicecomprises an instruction information acquiring section which acquiresinstruction information used to acquire an image, where the instructioninformation corresponds to time information related to time to acquirethe image, each of the plurality of imaging devices comprises a sendingsection which sends a video continuously shot in terms of time andsynchronized with the time information corresponding to the instructioninformation acquired by the instruction information acquiring section,and the image acquisition device further comprises a part acquisitionsection which acquires an image of a temporal part indicated by the timeinformation corresponding to the instruction information acquired by theinstruction information acquiring section, from the video sent from eachof the plurality of imaging devices.
 13. An imaging device comprising: ashooting control section which controls video shooting with an imagingsection according to shooting instruction information received from anexternal device through communication; and a communication statedetecting section which detects a communication state with the externaldevice, wherein the shooting control section controls the imagingsection to perform the video shooting continuously regardless of theshooting instruction information from the external device while thecommunication state is detected by the communication state detectingsection as a disconnected state, and the imaging device furthercomprises: an instruction information acquiring section which acquires,after being connected, the shooting instruction information that has notbeen received while the communication state is detected by thecommunication state detecting section as the disconnected state; and apart identification section which identifies a temporal partcorresponding to the shooting instruction information acquired by theinstruction information acquiring section, from a video shot with theimaging section when the communication state is the disconnected state.14. The imaging device according to claim 13, wherein time informationrelated to time is associated with the shooting instruction informationsent from the external device, and the shooting control section controlsthe video shooting in synchronization with the external device.
 15. Theimaging device according to claim 13, further comprising aconnection-time state identifying section which identifies, when thecommunication state detected by the communication state detectingsection is changed from the disconnected state to a connected state,whether the communication state is a state during shooting or a state ofbeing stopped while the communication state continues the connectedstate, wherein when the communication state is identified as the stateduring shooting by the connection-time state identifying section, theshooting control section maintains the state during shooting, while whenthe communication state is identified as the state of being stopped, theshooting control section controls the imaging section to stop shooting.16. The imaging device according to claim 15, further comprising adisconnection-time state information storing section which storesdisconnection-time state information, indicating whether the state isthe state during shooting or the state of being stopped, when thecommunication state detected by the communication state detectingsection is changed from the connected state to the disconnected state,wherein when the communication state detected by the connection-timestate identifying section is changed from the disconnected state to theconnected state, the communication state detecting section identifieswhether the state is state during shooting or the state of being stoppedwhile the communication state continues the connected state based on thedisconnection-time state information stored in the disconnection-timestate information storing section, and the shooting instructioninformation sent from the external device.
 17. An imaging methodcomprising: a shooting control process of controlling video shootingwith an imaging section according to shooting instruction informationreceived from an external device through communication; and acommunication state detecting process of detecting a communication statewith the external device, wherein the imaging section is controlled inthe shooting control process to perform the video shooting continuouslyregardless of the shooting instruction information from the externaldevice while the communication state is detected as a disconnected statein the communication state detecting process, and the imaging methodfurther comprises: an instruction information acquiring process ofacquiring, after being connected, the shooting instruction informationthat has not been received while the communication state is detected inthe communication state detecting process as the disconnected state; anda part identification process of identifying a temporal partcorresponding to the shooting instruction information acquired in theinstruction information acquiring process, from a video shot with theimaging section when the communication state is the disconnected state.18. A recording medium with a program stored thereon, the programcausing a computer to implement: a shooting control function ofcontrolling video shooting with an imaging section according to shootinginstruction information received from an external device throughcommunication; and a communication state detecting function of detectinga communication state with the external device, wherein the shootingcontrol function controls the imaging section to perform the videoshooting continuously regardless of the shooting instruction informationfrom the external device while the communication state is detected bythe communication state detecting function as a disconnected state, andthe program causes the computer to further implement: an instructioninformation acquiring function of acquiring, after being connected, theshooting instruction information that has not been received while thecommunication state is detected by the communication state detectingfunction as the disconnected state; and a part identification functionof identifying a temporal part corresponding to the shooting instructioninformation acquired by the instruction information acquiring function,from a video shot with the imaging section when the communication stateis the disconnected state.
 19. An image acquisition system including animage acquisition device and a plurality of imaging devices, whereineach of the plurality of imaging devices comprises: a shooting controlsection which controls video shooting with an imaging section accordingto shooting instruction information received from the image acquisitiondevice through communication; and a communication state detectingsection which detects a communication state with the image acquisitiondevice, the shooting control section controls the imaging section toperform the video shooting continuously regardless of the shootinginstruction information from the image acquisition device while thecommunication state is detected by the communication state detectingsection as a disconnected state, the imaging device further comprises:an instruction information acquiring section which acquires, after beingconnected, the shooting instruction information that has not beenreceived while the communication state is detected by the communicationstate detecting section as the disconnected state; and a partidentification section which identifies a temporal part corresponding tothe shooting instruction information acquired by the instructioninformation acquiring section, from a video shot with the imagingsection while the communication state is detected as the disconnectedstate, and the image acquisition device comprises an image acquisitionsection which acquires an image of a temporal part corresponding to theshooting instruction information identified by the identificationsection, from each of the plurality of imaging devices.